“If you don’t know who you truly are,
you’ll never know what you really want.”
―
If I ask you who you are?
You would probably tell me your name, but that’s your name, not you, then who you are?
You would then probably point at your body and say this is me, but that’s your body, not you.
So, who you really are without associating yourself with anything at all?
In this article, let’s try to understand who we really are …
Who you are without your identity?
Before we talk bout who we really are, I wanna tell you a little story of my life, it was after I had finished college and I was at a job interview, the interviewer was a lady and she was speaking fluent English, as English is not my first language, I wasn’t good at English speaking, at that time I could understand English, I could read it, but I couldn’t speak it properly.
So, she asked me the first question as “Tell me something about yourself?”
I was really nervous because first, I had to speak in English, and second because I was kind of a guy who would automatically get nervous in front of a girl.
So all I could say was my name, my place of birth, and my schooling.
Now, this lady realized that I was nervous, so she passed the glass of water that was on the table towards me, and said get some water and relaxed, it’s just an interview.
So when I said I was ready again, she again asked me the same question “tell me something about yourself?”,
Again, I could only say the same things just added one hobby, I knew that I have to say something more but I couldn’t think of anything.
Of course, I didn’t get that job, but now when I have this new way of looking at my life, and understanding of who I really am, when I look back at this moment of my life…
I see a guy who had a very low opinion of himself, he wanted to say something more about himself but he couldn’t because he didn’t know anything more than that about himself.
Understanding and knowing who I am is the greatest blessing that I received in my life. Well, I had to go through some very rough times, and some heartbreaking experiences but in the end, it was all worth it.
Now, understanding who we really are is essential because, without it, our life isn’t gonna make much sense.
However, when we understand who we really are then life starts to make sense, we begin to understand what is really going on, what this life is all about, and what is our role in it.
So, let’s begin to understand who you really are when you are removed from everything that is part of your identity in your everyday life…
So, you are not your body, your name, your work, your relations with others, or anything you associate yourself with, then who you are if you are removed from everything you thought you were?
In order to get an answer to that, you have to understand how reality works and what your role in it is.
So, the standard model of reality says that reality is made up of physical matter which is composed of tiny subatomic particles. Every material thing is considered to be separate from each other, and the universe is considered to working like a machine with predictable laws.
However, it is not the best model of understanding how reality really works.
According to the quantum model of reality, the fundamental of the universe are not particles, rather it’s the field of energy, and the reality that we see and experience are excitations in the field. Everything in the universe is connected to everything else through this invisible field of energy, and the universe is more like a computer matrix and it works with some predictable and more unpredictable laws.
Think of it this way- the wave in the ocean are excitations in the water, it’s part of the same ocean but excitation in the water makes it appear like the wave is separate from the ocean, so the wave is not fundamental but the ocean is
In the same manner, the field of energy is like the ocean, the reality that we can see and observe is like the wave in the ocean, just like a wave is in a constant change or movement, the reality is always changing.
Now, everything that you can see and observe is made up of this field of energy, everything is an expression of the field, everything is connected to everything else through this invisible field.
This field of energy is also known as the spirit, which is said to be a formless substance that pervades all of time and space.
The spirit is expressing and manifesting itself into forms, it is expressing itself as galaxies, the sun, the moon, the plants, the animals, the human beings, and everything in the universe.
It has put a limit on its expression through all other forms of life, but when it came to expressing itself through the human form it did not limit itself, instead it gave us free will and access to infinite potential realities.
The eternal spirit or the field of energy has a consciousness of its own, it is aware of its being, and the intelligence of this consciousness is beyond the comprehension of the human mind.
You can see its intelligence at works within you and all around you all the time, it is making seeds to grow into trees, it is causing the planets to rotate in perfect order, it is keeping your heart beating in the rhythm it needs to beat in.
Everything that you can see in nature, you can observe in it the presence of this great intelligence. This intelligence or consciousness is always present and paying attention to and observing the entire universe into being.
So, it is easy to understand that as everything is an expression of the spirit, so are you.
An expression of the spirit is the first thing that you are without associating yourself with your everyday life.
Now, the spirit is expressing itself as you and manifesting through your body, so the intelligence of the spirit or the field is present within your body. This body is a vehicle that the spirit provided for you, the intelligence of the spirit is 100% evenly present in all places at all times, this means the great intelligence that brings the whole universe into being is also present within your body. This intelligence in your body is commonly known as your subconscious mind.
Then you came into this body and started driving it.
You are not your body, neither you are the intelligence in your body; rather you are an individual identity that’s driving your body. But the body is not a mechanical vehicle; it’s a biological vehicle, just like we used to have horses.
So it would be more accurate to say that you are riding your body. Just like when riding a horse you have to bring your body in harmony with the body of your horse to have a smooth ride, you have to bring harmony between you and your body in order to have a better life.
So, the second thing that you are without associating yourself with anything outside of yourself is, that you are the rider of your body and its intelligence.
But! These two are only attributes of you, so who you really are?
Who you really are…
when you are not anything but you!
In order to understand this, you have to understand- how did you become ‘you’?
So, the first thing that happened was that your body started to grow inside your mother’s body, then you came into the world and start growing up in your family. You didn’t know that you even exist till this stage of your life.
At the next stage of your life, you begin to have a sense of your individuality, as it is inherent in your nature to observe and understand who you are, you automatically started paying attention to your environment and what people around you were doing, and then you started copying those behaviors.
In the first few years of your life, your subconscious mind was wide open to download all the programs that you were going to need in order to survive in your environment. You learned or downloaded, the behaviors that you demonstrate, the food you like, the language you speak, the habits you have, etc., without putting in any conscious efforts.
Then, you went through some high emotional experiences throughout your life; those experiences became the defining moments of who you think you are.
But! Throughout your life, you must have noticed that there is something in you that wants more, that gives you desires, dreams, goals, inspiration – did you ever think what that is?
Well, it is the answer to our original question– It is the real you.
So, ‘the you’ that you think you are, is the personality that you have built of yourself by associating yourself with your environment and people.
This personality, which is made up of how you think, how you feel, and how you act, is the pattern you gave to the universal intelligence within you, and it created your life according to that pattern.
Just like Dr. Joe Dispenza always says “Your personality creates your Personal reality”
Now, it is the you that you are experiencing here as a body, in space and time, this is you as long as you are living in this body, you are a self-aware being.
But! Who you really are is way much grander.
You have a soul, a source of your individual intelligence; it is your uniqueness, the source of your individuality.
So, You are a consciousness who has a soul; that soul gives you your uniqueness.
Your soul is the original mold of you that God created of you with infinite potential within you,
The personality that you have created by association with the physical world is the mold of you that you created as a free will being.
You and the Divine Intelligence that is within you are co-creating and co-experiencing your life as You.
So, when this experience is over, you as a consciousness reunite with your soul and look back at how you did it in this life, did you become what the source (God) intended you to be or not?
And! After that…
Well, there are so many stories about what happens after that, but in truth, we cannot really know until we experience it ourselves.
Thank you very much for your time.
If you’d like to watch a YouTube video version of this article, click here– “Who you really are?”
Er. Parvez Alam
(author of “The Law of Life- Basic Principles for a Better Life”)